The 'world's longest sightseeing escalator' has opened in an area of outstanding natural beauty - just for those tourists who can't be bothered walking there.

The incredible sight, at Enshi Grand Canyon in Enshi city, Central China's Hubei province, is intended to increase visitor numbers to the area.

It's hoped that the £4.3million escalator, which takes 18 minutes to travel on, will boost tourism by removing effort from the great outdoors.

Costing £2.44 to ride, the steel concrete structure and an additional wooden structure have been surrounded by climbing plants which it's hoped will eventually help it blend in to the surrounding environment.

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Xiong Yan, the man in charge of the project who works at Central-South Architectural Design Institute, told People's Daily: "The whole engineering plan focused on ecological protection, which can be seen from the wooden structure and grey tile at the top of the escalator."

It's hoped that the structure will increase tourism in the area (Image: Rex)

Tourists are being offered the chance to see the sights without stretching their legs (Image: REX)

The first part of the structure opened in 2011, and now it's been completed (Image: REX)

The structure opened up during the week-long National Day holiday earlier in October (Image: REX)